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The International Monetary Fund is holding a two-day regional conference from Monday in Morocco with a message of reform amid growing "frustration" among the population of some Arab states. "Rising social tensions and protests in several countries across the Middle East and North Africa are a clear indication that the aspirations of the people of the region, for opportunity, prosperity and equity, remain unfulfilled," said Jihad Azour, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department. "Reforms are the key to address the fundamental problems that have plagued so many countries of the region for so long: low growth, high unemployment and corruption," he wrote in an analysis ahead of the conference in Marrakesh. Unemployment in the Middle East...

President Donald Trump said the United States "deeply respects" Africans and will dispatch its top diplomat to the continent, in a letter to African leaders seen by AFP on Sunday. The letter sent last week comes after Trump provoked a firestorm of indignation among African nations earlier in January when he reportedly called them "shithole countries" during a meeting with lawmakers in Washington. While Trump has denied the remarks, they are expected to be formally condemned by the 55 member states of the African Union during their ongoing summit in the Ethiopian capital. "I want to underscore that the United States deeply respects the people of Africa, and my commitment to strong and respectful relationships...

Nigeria clawed back from the brink of defeat to edge Angola 2-1 after extra time on Sunday in cold, windy Tangiers and book an African Nations Championship (CHAN) semi-final against Sudan. In the last quarter-final, former champions Libya pipped Congo Brazzaville 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in southern city Agadir and they will face hosts Morocco for a place in the final. Both semi-finals are scheduled for Wednesday, with the final next Sunday offering a record $1.25 million (about one million euro) first prize in the fifth edition of the biennial competition. Nigerian Anthony Okpotu atoned for several misses in an enthralling quarter-final against Angola by equalising during the first minute of stoppage time in northern Morocco. A...

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Friday condemned a deadly attack on a Benghazi mosque which left at least 37 dead, and renewed calls for the arrest of a wanted Libyan commander. "These bombings and executions demand both condemnation and a meaningful response", chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement. At least 37 people died and scores were wounded after Tuesday's two car bombings outside a mosque frequented by jihadists in Libya's second city Benghazi. The attack was followed by video and photographs on social networks Wednesday, appearing to show wanted Libyan commander Mahmoud al-Werfalli carrying out summary executions in retaliation. Bensouda said she was "deeply concerned" by the bombings, but also "appalled" at the reports of...

The United Nations launched an international appeal Thursday for $330 million dollars to fund humanitarian aid projects for almost one million people in Libya, a country plunged in chaos and a hub of illegal migration. Maria Ribeiro, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Libya, outlined the priorities for a Humanitarian Response Plan for 2018 at a news conference in Tripoli. The target is "to reach at least 940,000 people" through 71 projects at a cost of $330 million to be carried out in partnership with municipalities, civil society and ministries, she said. In 2017, the international community contributed $98 million...

US President Donald Trump on Friday asked the African Union chairman to pass on his "warmest regards" to other regional leaders at a summit this weekend, after sparking outrage with a reported slur against Africans. Trump met Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where some African business leaders say they are planning to boycott Trump's closing speech later Friday. The outspoken US leader congratulated Kagame on taking over as chair of the 55-nation African bloc, which Trump said was a "great honour". "I know you're going to your first meeting shortly. Please give my warmest regards," Trump told Kagame after they held a one-on-one meeting at the forum.

The oldest remains of a modern human outside Africa have been dug up in Israel, offering evidence of what genetic studies have already suggested -- that humans migrated out of Africa some 50,000 years earlier than previously thought. Facial fragments, including a jawbone and several teeth, were found at a site called Misliya Cave in Israel, one of several prehistoric cave sites located on Mount Carmel. The bones date to between 174,000 and 188,000 years old, said the report in Thursday's edition of the US journal Science. Until now, the earliest modern human fossils found outside of Africa were estimated to be between 90,000 to 120,000 years old. "Misliya is an exciting discovery," said co-author Rolf Quam, an anthropology professor...

The United Nations demanded Thursday the immediate surrender of a Benghazi commander wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges after evidence emerged suggesting he had carried out new summary executions in Libya. Mahmoud al-Werfalli commands the Al-Saiqa Brigade based in Libya's second city and is loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar whose forces dominate the east of the North African country. When the ICC issued a warrant for Werfalli's arrest last August over summary executions in which at least 33 people were killed in 2016 and 2017, Haftar's forces insisted he was in their custody and would face a military trial.

TUNIS (Reuters) - The United Nations Libya mission said it was alarmed by reports of “brutal and outrageous summary executions” in the eastern city of Benghazi on Wednesday, after pictures emerged appearing to show at least nine people being shot dead at the site of a twin car bombing. The U.N. Libya mission, UNSMIL, suggested in a tweet that the gunman was Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a special forces commander wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegedly carrying out a number of similar killings. “(The U.N.) demands the handing over of Mahmoud al-Werfalli immediately to (the ICC) as it documented at least 5 similar cases, in 2017 alone, carried out or ordered by al-Werfalli,” UNSMIL said on its Twitter account...

More than 30 people were dead and dozens wounded after two car bombings outside a mosque frequented by jihadist opponents in Libya's second city Benghazi, medical officials said Wednesday. The attack after evening prayers on Tuesday underlined the continued chaos in Libya, which has been wracked by violence and divisions since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising. Benghazi has been relatively calm since military strongman Khalifa Haftar announced the eastern city's "liberation" from jihadists in July last year after a three-year campaign, but sporadic violence has continued. The bombers blew up two cars 30 minutes apart outside the mosque...

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - The toll from a twin car bombing at a mosque in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi rose to 35 on Wednesday, medics said, one of the highest from a single attack since Libya slid into turmoil after a 2011 uprising. The first blast on Tuesday evening hit worshippers leaving the large Bayaat al-Radwan mosque in Benghazi’s central Al Salmani district. The second, which witnesses said came about 15 minutes later and was much stronger, inflicted a high number of casualties among people who had gathered at the scene of the first blast. On Wednesday, the site of the bombings was strewn with scraps of clothing and victims’ possessions, and the stench of blood hung in...

An armed group loyal to Libya's national unity government said Wednesday it had arrested a gang accused of kidnapping and torturing Sudanese migrants near the northern city of Sirte. The gang, made up of "five Libyans and one Palestinian... had tortured eight migrants," said the Sirte Security and Protection Force, one of several that took part in the unity government's battle to oust the Islamic State group from Sirte last year. The migrants are being treated at the Ibn Sina Hospital in Sirte, 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli, it said. The arrests took place in Qaddahiya, a village south of Sirte, "after the publication of a video on social media showing scenes of African migrants undergoing unbearable torture",...

Two car bombs exploded in Salmani district of the eastern Libyan city Benghazi on Tuesday, killing and injuring several people, according to the Libyan news agency. The first car bomb exploded in front of a mosque, as worshipers exited the mosque after the night prayer, the agency reported. Following the arrival of ambulances, a second car bomb exploded in the same location. The two explosions killed and injured several people and caused large damage. Fadia Al-Barghathi, official of the Information Office of Al-Jalaa Hospital in Benghazi, said that "the first explosion killed four people and injured three others." "The victims of the second explosion have not been counted yet. The final number of victims of the blast will be presented...

The Ethiopian government said Wednesday that 21 of its nationals were repatriated from Libya. Meles Alem, spokesperson for the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Xinhua that the 21 Ethiopians arrived in the capital city, Addis Ababa, on Wednesday as part of the first round of the Ethiopian government's effort to repatriate its citizens from the North African nation. According to the ministry, procedures for the repatriation of the second batch of 45 Ethiopian migrants from Libya is underway. Ethiopia is conducting the repatriation process in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The exact number of Ethiopians who are stranded in Libya is yet to be identified. Hundreds of thousands of African migrants, including Ethiopians, have in recent...

KLEINARL, Austria (Reuters) - The chilly conditions on an Austrian mountainside belied the warm reception given to people from 15 African countries who took part in an annual luge race aimed at helping migrants integrate into European society. The event over the weekend, dubbed the African Winter Sports Cup, is a luge race contested by people with little or no experience of winter sports. Its aim, over the six years it has been held, is to promote social integration through sport, organizers said. The countries represented included Nigeria, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan. Some of the people taking part had come to Europe as asylum seekers while others were born on the continent. “We are all human, we have...

The airport serving the Libyan capital resumed flights on Saturday following a five-day suspension after deadly clashes around the facility that also damaged planes on the tarmac. Lotfi Khalil, the director general of Mitiga airport on the eastern outskirts of Tripoli, said services resumed with Buraq Air flying to the eastern city of Tobruk and Libyan Airlines leaving for Tunis. One local carrier, state-owned Afriqiyah Airways, however, has yet to resume operations because its planes were damaged in Monday's fighting in which at least 20 people were killed, he told AFP.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley expressed regret on Thursday to African ambassadors who were outraged by President Donald Trump's alleged description of African countries as "shithole" nations, the head of the African Group said. Haley asked to meet the African ambassadors at the United Nations after they released a joint statement on Friday demanding an apology from Trump for his "outrageous, racist and xenophobic remarks." Ambassador Anatolio Ndong Mba of Equatorial Guinea, who chairs the Africa Group, said the US ambassador did not offer an apology during the closed-door meeting, but she did express regret. Haley told the meeting that "she was not there at the White House, she is not sure what was said, but she regretted all this situation...

A three-month old baby has died after being picked up by rescuers at sea off Libya, because bad weather and a lack of boats made a medical evacuation impossible, aid organisations said Thursday. Over 1,650 migrants have been rescued in the Mediterranean since Tuesday, including many women and children. While some were brought to land Thursday, hundreds of others could be trapped for days yet by stormy seas. The Proactiva Open Arms and Sea Watch 3, which have plucked over 700 people from unseaworthy vessels between them, are too small to attempt the rough crossing back towards Italy with that number of people aboard. They are currently being forced to take shelter off the coast of Tunisia until the weather...

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - The only functioning airport in Libya’s capital Tripoli remained shut for a third day on Wednesday after fierce clashes between armed groups damaged planes belonging to all four of the airlines that operate there. The fighting erupted on Monday after one of the city’s many armed groups launched an attack at Mitiga Airport in an apparent effort to secure the release of prisoners held in an adjacent prison. At least 20 people were killed and 60 wounded. “Mitiga’s air space remains closed and it is up to the authorities to decide when it will be reopened,” the airport administration said in a short statement on Wednesday. Petro Air, which operates flights to Libyan oil fields, also said...

There's nothing covert about Roxy -- a huge market in Abidjan selling counterfeit medicine, the scourge of Africa and the cause of around 100,000 deaths annually on the world's poorest continent. Located in the bustling Adjame quarter of Ivory Coast's main city and commercial hub, the haven for fake medicine has been targeted time and again by authorities and stockpiles burnt. But it resurfaces every time. "The police hassle us but they themselves buy these medicines," said Mariam, one of the many mainly illiterate vendors who hawk everything from painkillers and antibiotics to anti-malaria and anti-retroviral treatments. "When we are harassed we always come to an arrangement with them to resume our activities," she said. Fatima, another hawker, said: "Many...